‘Whiteout’ fades away on screen

Kate Beckinsale in Whiteout

Bad choices usually torpedo even the best performers, and Kate Beckinsale goes down for the count early and often in Whiteout.

The movie is based on the Greg Rucka/Steve Lieber comic from 1998, and perhaps the best thing that can be said about this is that Reese Witherspoon had the good sense and judgment to bow out before shooting started.

Although she’s done more than her share of forgettable films (the various Underworld vehicles and the horrific Van Helsing come quickly to mind), this time Beckinsale is both poorly served and also exploited in the very beginning with a shower scene designed to do nothing other than briefly thrill the handful of males who were in the audience.

Otherwise, we have an ultra-routine murder mystery enhanced only be the fact Beckinsale’s character is in Antarctica. In fact, Carrie Stetko is the only deputy marshal assigned to the entire continent. She’s there for a reason that gets disclosed as a plot point about midway through, but by the time they get to it you’re already somewhat less than intrigued.

Stetko soon finds herself having to investigate a murder on deadline. There are only three days before the Antarctic winter begins, a dreaded event that will make visibility impossible and require the evacuation of the base.

But while trying to solve the case quickly, Stetko crosses paths with a UN operative (Gabriel Macht) who’s also seeking the killer, but has different motives for wanting to discover what happened. The pair briefly clashes, then joins forces when they determine that there’s something much deeper and darker happening than either of them initially suspected.

It’s taken a decade to get this one made, and it has the look, feel and flow of a project that’s had too many hands involved in every way.

The story lurches along, the murder solution proves extremely obvious, and there’s so little character interaction and development that it’s almost impossible to ever really understand or empathize with Stetko or anyone else in the area, with the possible exception of a veteran doctor played by Tom Skerritt. He’s given a lot more weight and character empathy than anyone else, while Alex O’Loughlin and Columbus Short filter in and out in rather limp and dreary portrayals.

The notion of an adventure in a frozen wilderness might have made a compelling story, and the footage shot in Manitoba as well as the sequences done on the shores of Lake Winnipeg offer some natural beauty and environmental challenges. But a lackluster script and overall limp work compromise the visual appeal.

Hopefully, Beckinsale will be more remembered for her contributions to the likes of The Aviator or Nothing But The Truth rather than debacles like Whiteout.